Since the trip was a quiet one, naturally no one would be there to greet him. (Please visit #……net)
Therefore, Otto didn't plan to go straight to the castle at the beginning. No words were as truthful as seeing things with his own eyes. He planned to spend a day or two observing the prince's territory and then find some local rats to get information.
Stepping out of the cabin and onto the gangplank, he was stunned by the scene before him.
Was this... a dock that a borderland could possess?
He saw that the dock area, extending hundreds of steps along the riverbank, was constructed of reddish-brown bricks. Every so often, there was a gangplank, and a sign with a number was erected where the gangplank connected to the dock. Otto roughly counted them; there were twenty-six in total—they were arranged neatly, like tentacles extending from the shore. Some were covered with snow, while others revealed yellowish-brown planks, indicating that even during the Months of the Demons, the town's docks were still being maintained.
In contrast, the canal docks of the Greycastle royal capital, in terms of length and number of gangplanks, were not even half the size of this!
But what surprised him even more were the ships docked at the side.
A row of gray, wide-bodied ships, the likes of which he had never seen before, were docked not far ahead. There were seven of them. They had a shallow draft, no sails, and no masts. Yet the size of the ships didn't seem like they could be moved by oarsmen. The most unique thing about these strange ships was the huge wooden wheel on each side and the thick iron pipe protruding from the center. Their shape was different from any inland river sailboat.
Otto watched from the side for a long time, until he felt a chill on his head, and still couldn't figure out how these strange "wheelboats" could move.
Brushing the snow off his head, he put aside his doubts and decided to follow the crew into town.
The "Favorable Wind" from the royal capital obviously wouldn't only transport him alone. Otto saw the crew carrying bags of goods off the sailboat and piling them on the dock. Several guards in black zhifu were recording something with pen and paper, and occasionally they would pick out two bags to inspect, seemingly checking the goods.
"Who are they? Mercenaries hired by the buyer?" Otto walked to the captain's side.
"Ha, mercenaries?" the latter grinned. "These people are patrol members of Border Town."
He couldn't help but be stunned. Patrolmen? Wouldn't that be like running into a bunch of robbers? The first time he left the inner city of the royal capital, he was extorted two silver wolves by patrol members, and such situations were much the same everywhere—they were like the opposite of underground rats, but they did pretty much the same thing as the rats, except they charged more and often didn't do anything after taking the money. But what Otto found strange was that the captain was leisurely smoking his pipe and didn't seem to be stopping them from checking, nor did he take out a few silver wolves to make them leave quickly.
"The first time I came here, I thought the same thing as you," the captain said, as if seeing through his thoughts. "The patrolmen here are different. As long as you follow their rules, you don't need to pay any fees before entering the market."
The patrolmen's... rules? Otto frowned. Did even the robbers in this place have some sense of reason? And they even knew how to use pen and paper to record things, even if they were likely just some crooked symbols, it was still incredible.
"What are they recording?" he asked.
"The type and quantity of the goods... especially wheat," the captain spread his hands. "They need to check it after it's transported to the market to prevent you from selling the grain to others along the way—here, food can only be sold by the lord. Of course, my cargo doesn't contain wheat, so the inspection will be faster."
After all the bags were loaded onto the cart team, the group left the dock and headed towards the market along the wide street. Otto suddenly realized that his eyes weren't enough.
Was this really the most remote territory of the Kingdom of Greycastle?
Looking at the flat, hard road surface under his feet, the rows of neat and beautiful houses along the street, and the people coming and going, it wasn't much worse than Bright Light City in Dawn.
As a noble, he had seen magnificent and spectacular buildings. Neither the Dawn Spire nor the Sunlight Auditorium could compare to these two or three-story buildings.
However, there was only one Dawn Spire, and beneath it, there were still dilapidated houses, muddy paths, and sewage everywhere.
But here, he couldn't find a single slightly old house, as if these residences had all sprung up at the same time.
"You look surprised," the captain laughed. "Don't worry, everyone who comes here for the first time will have that expression. I have to say, Border Town is a magical place. See those three-story buildings over there? They weren't there the last time I came."
"I heard... this used to be a stronghold built to mine a mine."
"That's what I heard too, but who knows the truth," he picked his nose. "You know, some rumors, after being spread for too long, will become completely different. Maybe there's a lot of gold hidden in the Northern Slope Mine, and His Majesty sent his son here... after all, he's his own flesh and blood."
"Wait, what's that?!" As he crossed a flat square, Otto suddenly saw two large, colored spheres floating side by side in mid-air, with a pair of banners hanging below. The banners had striking words written on them, one saying "Welcome to Border Town" and the other saying "Join Now and Get Citizen Benefits."
"Are you asking about the ones above or below?" the captain pointed with his chin. "I don't really know how they got that flying sphere up there, but as for the ones below... you can go to the east end of the square to learn about the situation. The lord's notices are often posted there, and this banner is recruiting travelers, merchants, and refugees from all over."
"They even want refugees?" Otto asked in surprise. "What are citizen benefits?"
"You can apply for jobs here, get food subsidies for the first two months, and get a place to shelter from the wind and rain. Sounds good, right?" the captain explained dismissively. "It's not that easy to get approved. Several of my crew members have tried it, and none of them passed—the lord requires that you must not have ulterior motives, must not believe in the church, and must not have a criminal record. And theft is also a crime. Good heavens, what sailor hasn't stolen anything? Also, in my opinion, although this place looks pretty prosperous, it actually has many shortcomings."
"Such as?"
"There are too few places to have fun, no casinos, no brothels, not even a streetwalker," he spat. "If you live in a place like this for too long, wouldn't you be bored to death?"
The market was north of the square. While the captain and his crew went to deliver the goods, Otto decided to take a walk here alone. According to the captain, you could find a lot of rare goods at both the convenience market here and the boutique market on the other side. And that was indeed the case. From eggs to dried fish, from cloth clothes to farm tools, the dazzling array of goods filled rows of stands. As long as you stopped at a stall for a while, someone would come up to you to persuade you. No matter what the outcome of the talks with Fourth Prince would be, he was already firmly attracted to this town.
Just then, there was a commotion in the crowd.
He turned his head and saw two women walking towards him.
One had a long black ponytail and was wearing a black robe. Her features were beautiful, but her cold expression made her difficult to approach. The other was completely different. Her expression was gentle, and her every move revealed elegance and composure, making people think of a warm spring breeze. Her swaying, bright blonde hair was like the light of dawn.
When Otto saw the blonde woman, he felt his blood suddenly boiling.
His hands trembled slightly, and he rubbed his eyes repeatedly to make sure he wasn't mistaken—
"Andrea Quinn!" No longer able to suppress his excitement, he couldn't help but shout out.
.(。)